About a simple report
This is a simplified report for non-professional users ("dummies"), poorly versed in the headphones characteristics and specialized graphs.

In this report, information is presented as simply and clearly as possible. Interpretation of data is maximally simplified, and, accordingly, devoid of subtleties and nuances. This is sufficient for an overall assessment, but for a more complete and accurate presentation should be considered a professional report.

By possible, the characteristics are accompanied by explanations to do reader possibility gradually master a more complex professional report.

Analogy of the report
For example when choosing a video card, many people do not understand the set of tables with the final data of the test packages. How to understand the relative difference in these figures? In most cases, the unprepared reader is satisfied with only the textual evaluation of the author, without delving into the figures. When the choice of a product is done thoroughly, then the reader gradually deepens into complex tables, mastering information from simple to complex. We made two separate reports: "simple" and "complex". A simple report with explanatory comments will allow you to self-study to gradually understand and professional report.

Analysis with recommendations for Grado GW100 Wireless Cable Connected headphones based on the measured characteristics

Analysis and recommendations for Grado GW100 Wireless Cable Connected based on the measured characteristics

Home or studio, where sound from the headphones does not bother anyone

5★★★★★

5★★★★★

5★★★★★

5.0★★★★★

Office and home, where people should not hear the sound from the headphones

5★★★★★

5★★★★★

1★☆☆☆☆

3.7★★★☆☆

About simple reports and services
The table shows the most common "typical" headphones and the field of application of headphones with an amplifier.

The compatibility rating is similar to car analysis by its clearance. When we know clearance we can estimate which type of road will optimally for that car without evaluating the class of the car. On a race car of Formula 1 is difficult to drive on a ground road. The same foolish idea to use caterpillar all-terrain vehicle on a highway.

To assess the sencivity of headphones and the compatibility of the amp part, we assume that the user will listen to music at a loudness level of 90 dB SPL. Depending on external conditions, this volume level varies and we estimate the conditions under which the sound source will play in a high-quality mode, and in which conditions there will be hear a lack of volume level, unnecessary distortions or other negative factors.

Analysis of acoustic design Grado GW100 Wireless Cable Connected

The Grado GW100 Wireless headphones are made with an acoustic design of an open type.

Due to the open type, the headphones do not have noise isolation - the people around can hear well the music from the headphones, while you can hear ambient sounds too.

Headphones without noise isolation are well suited for home and studio in a quiet environment, as well as on the street with active traffic, allowing you to notice the danger in time.

Headphones without noise isolation are unsuitable for use in noisy public transport, as due to external noise it is necessary to increase the volume level of reproduced music, which is harmful for hearing during long listening. Loud sound is unpleasant to passengers nearby. In a studio, while recording vocals or instruments by a microphone, the open headphones are likewise not suitable, because sound from the "minus" from the headphones will gets into the microphone.

The sensitivity of the Grado GW100 Wireless headphones is 116.81 dB/V SPL by the voltage and 102.88 dB/mW SPL by the power. The sensitivity by voltage reflects the relative "loudness" of the headphones among others - the higher is the value, the louder are the headphones. The sensitivity by power reflects the efficiency of the headphones. High sensitivity of the headphones means less energy need from the source (for portable devices - less power from the battery).

Depending on the sensitivity, headphones are best to use with sources of optimum power. If the source is too powerful, then there is a high probability of constantly hearing background noise. If source power is weak, there will be insufficient volume level.

In a quiet environment for the Grado GW100 Wireless, an amplifier with a voltage level of at least -6.81 dBV at 40 Ohms is recommended for listening to music with a level of 90 dB SPL (without noise isolation). An amplifier with a level above 31.19 dBV is not desirable if the volume control is digital, not analog.

For noisy environments, an amplifier with a voltage level of at least 5.19 dBV at a load of 40.49 ohms is desirable.

If you want to listen to music at a different volume level, you just need to add or subtract a change in dB to 90 dB SPL (for example, for a desired level of 105 dB SPL, add 15 dB and the minimum voltage level for the amplifier is -6.81 dBV + 15 dB = 8.19 dBV).

The average resistance at the headphones Grado GW100 Wireless is 40.49 Ohm.

The resistance affects the amount of current that the amplifier should give to the headphones. If the current is not enough, the sound quality will deteriorate, beginning with harsh in the sound and ending with a crackling. In most cases, at low current values, the amplifiers operate in comparable quality to class A, and as the current level rises, the quality decreases toward AB, B, and the clipping zone.

Imagine that you have a water tank, which gradually fills with water. The voltage from the amplifier this is the pressure with which the pump draws water from the reservoir. If the inflow of water in the tank is lower than the volume that the pump pumps out, then at the pump outlet we collect water and "bubbles". Similarly will be with the sound from the headphones, which are lacked the current from the amplifier.

For a quiet environment, an amplifier with an output current level of at least 11.28 mA in a given class of quality is desirable (preferably orientated to comparable class A) and 44.90 mA for loud.

Selection of other headphones
If in your situation, Grado GW100 Wireless Cable Connected headphones in the table do not have a high rating, you can choose more suitable headphone models in a special on-line selection for the selected parameters. If fully suited, then similarly you can see what other models may suit you.

About of the universality of headphones
For different purposes it is best to select individual headphones, and not to look for some universal headphones for all occasions. Unfortunately, some properties of headphones mutually exclude the use of headphones in different situations. True connoisseurs of quality sound use several pairs of headphones. Headphones are compact and do not take up much space, unlike speakers.

Sensitivity

These headphones are 1.8 dB quieter than most On-ear headphones.This difference is insignificant and not exceeding a threefold deviation from the mean. So, most devices designed to work with Over-ear headphones should fit quite well with the Grado GW100 Wireless. A sufficient volume should be provided during playback and background noise from the source should not be noticeable.

In general, to listen to music with a level of 90 dB SPL in a quiet environment, the amplifier will require a voltage of -6.8 dBV.

It is desirable that the amplifier provides a margin of 12 dB in cases of rare noisy environments or for too quiet recordings. Thus, the amplifier should provide a maximum voltage level not lower than 5.2 dBV.

Excessive volume margin is undesirable, since for analog regulator, the adjustment range is about 40 dB and below that the channels imbalance begins. For a discrete regulator the pitch may be too large. For digital controllers are possible options for adjusting the sound level before a DAC or in a DAC. As a result of that will be decrease the signal-to-noise ratio and accordingly it is probable the appearance of audible noise.

The average sensitivity to power for On-ear headphones is 101.6 dB/mW SPL (average by measured 150 headphone models). The Audeze LCD-2C sensitivity is 102.9 dB / mW SPL. GradoGW100 Wireless have just a little more sensitivity than other headphones of this type. This means that their power consumption is lower and being connected to mobile devices, the operation time of this bundle will be longer than of many others.

Measurements of Grado GW100 Wireless Cable Connected were carried out by Roman Kuznetsov on the hardware-software complex RAA.

The Grado GW100 Wireless Cable Connected test was conducted as a black box test, without regard to cost and prestige. This is the basic principle for making measurements, measurement reports and developing tests in RAA.

I believe that it is important to do not make an absolute assessment of the device, but an aggregate assessment when working together with a source amplifier and taking into account external factors. This allows you to effectively reveal the potential of the entire set of devices or to make a more optimal choice of components.